GHc50m fraud: Publish YEA report – Minority to gov’t

The Minority in Parliament has challenged management of the Youth employment agency (YEA) to publish the report alleging fraud in the scheme.

The YEA had earlier confirmed that it had deleted 16,839 names from its payroll. The Agency said it took the decision after its internal audit showed that thousands of beneficiaries of YEA were being fraudulently paid. The agency stated that the rot amounted to over GHC50 million.

According to the acting Chief Executive of the YEA, Justine Kodua Frimpong, it initiated investigations into the payroll of YEA after it noticed some discrepancies in the report handed to it by the managers under the previous administration.

But in a press briefing addressed on Thursday by the minority spokesperson on Youth, Sports and Culture, Kobla Woyome accused government of witch hunting, vilification and intimidation.

According to them, the computerized system put in place by the previous management cannot be manipulated for fraudulent activities hence the allegation by the new management that the fraud occurred under the erstwhile government is questionable.

The minority added that for the avoidance of doubt each beneficiary of YEA is biometrically registered which makes it easy to identify beneficiaries.

“We are challenging the leadership to produce the names, E-zwich numbers, modules, youth employment numbers, regions and districts for the said ghost names for the Public to check if beneficiaries cannot be traced to the four cycles of the YEA.

“We are further challenging management to publish the said audit report of the internal audit agency it keeps referring to, together with the written responses of staff who were cited or implicated in the said report.”